Cheating stories

Eric Collins -- Eric is a 38 year old man. He is six feet tall and a 180 lbs. He wears his hair professionally short; both his eyes and his hair are brown. Eric is a teacher at a high school, where he spends most of his weekdays. Him and Sharon have been together since they were in high school themselves, almost twenty years.

Sharon Collins -- Eric's wife. Sharon is two years younger, at the age of 36. She has a small figure, topping in at only 5'6" and 130 lbs. Her hair is naturally blonde and she wears it down to her shoulders. She has bright green eyes. Sharon is skinny, with B cups and a flat ass. Her and Eric had a daughter when she was 18, Carolyn, and have been together ever since.

Carolyn Collins -- Eric and Sharon's daughter. She is eighteen years old and currently taking classes in real estate at a local college.

Arthur -- Arthur is a career criminal. He was Eric's booky for nearly two years, although he partakes in many different enterprises. Arthur is 29 years old. He is an imposing figure, standing at 5'4" and 190 lbs. He is in good shape, if not completely muscular. His black hair is buzzed down to a medium length, and his most notable feature are his piercingly blue eyes.

*****

Tantalus

Chapter 2 -

Sharon was in the kitchen making dinner when she heard the knock on the door. She turned the stove down a little then walked over to the front door. When she opened it up a man with short black hair and shockingly blue eyes was standing on her porch.

"Hello, Mrs. Collins?" he asked. "My name is Arthur. There's something we need to talk about."

"I'm sorry?" she asked back.

"Oh," he replied with a laugh. "That probably sounded a little ominous. I'm from Evergreen Investments. We recently acquired your mortgage in a securities purchase we made and there are some things I'd like to go over with you."

"I'm kind of in the middle of cooking dinner, and my husband isn't home yet, do you think you could come back at a better time?"

"I'm sorry this is an inconvenient time for you, but honestly my schedule is not very accommodating and the sooner this meeting gets on the books the better. I'd be more than willing to wait for your husband to get home before we get down to business though."

"Its just that right now isn't really the best-"

"It really can't wait, I'm afraid."

"I see," Sharon said. "Well, I guess you had better come in then." She lead Arthur into the living room on the other side of the door and let him know that he could wait on the couch. The kitchen was situated next to the living room, with a window between the two rooms cut in the wall over the stove. The two talked while they waited for Eric to come home. Sharon mostly asked about the real estate market, wondering what prospects her daughter would have in the field. According to Arthur, she would be fine.

Eric got home twenty minutes after Arthur had arrived, and he looked haggard. The weight of the day was heavy on his shoulders. "Hey honey," Sharon called out as he opened the door. "We have company over, a man from the mortgage company."

Eric made to reply, but he froze when he saw Arthur sitting on his couch, the words stuck in his throat. Arthur simply raised an eyebrow, then put a finger up to his lips.

Sharon stepped out of the kitchen and walked up to her husband. "You ok? You look kind of run down."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Long day at work. Look if its not to much to ask Mr. ..."

"Call me Arthur."

"...Arthur, then do you think we could do this another time. I'm really in no mood for whatever it is that brought you here."

Sharon tried to speak up but Arthur replied before she had a chance. "As I told your lovely wife earlier, it really can't wait. We need this meeting on the books as soon as possible for processing reasons. It won't take long."

"Why don't you go change Eric. By the time you're back out I'll have dinner all set."

"No. Let's get this done before dinner. He said it shouldn't take long right?"

Sharon leaned in and in a hushed tone said "You're being a little rude don't you think?"

"He's here on business, he doesn't care." With that Eric walked over and seated himself in a chair across from Arthur. Sharon waited a moment, then sat down in a chair against the wall, forming a half circle between the three of them.

"Well ok then," Arthur said, "let's get down to it. As I told your wife earlier, I work for Evergreen Investments and we have just purchased your mortgage on the market and there are a few things we want to go over with you."

"I don't see what those could be," Eric shot back. "The terms were set years ago. There shouldn't be anything left to discuss."

"Well that's just it, you see. The interest rate on your mortgage was never locked in. You left it adjustable. Now at the time you took the mortgage out I'm sure that whoever was advising you thought that was a good thing. Interest rates were looking like they'd keep going down for quite some time. That, however, is no longer the case."

"Are you saying you're upping our rate?" Sharon asked.

"Well, no." he replied. "What I'm saying is more that the interest rate could be raised, if my company decided that needed to happen. Fortunately, you two have very good credit, and congratulations on that."

"Thank you," Eric said, barely holding the venom back. "Why bother to come, in person, at dinner time, just to tell us that nothing is changing."

"I'm sorry if my visit has put you out Mr. Collins."

"He didn't mean it like that, he's just tired. My husband is a school teacher and being locked in a room with kids all day can do that to you." Sharon gave a smile with her laugh.

"Ah, yes, kids can do that to you." Arthur shot Eric a glance before continuing. "I find that there's a certain release you can find with them too though."

Eric flinched at the words, and seeing that he was temporarily subdued Arthur continued on. "You of course have a point though. I wouldn't be here if that was all there was to this. Your credit is good, true, but credit alone is not the only consideration in determining rate readjustment. Now, I apologize if this seems a little forward, but if, say, a history of gambling problems, heretofore unknown to any previous lenders, were discovered...well that could very well trigger an adjustment."

The couple sat quietly. Eric looked inflamed, Sharon in shock. She spoke first. "That...that was a long time ago. Arthur, he got help. He's been on the wagon a long time now. Your investment is in no risk."

"Well Sharon," Eric silently fumed at Arthur's efforts to enforce a first-name basis. "the issue is that gambling poses an existential risk to the investment. Any slip, at any time, could cost us a lot of money. Preemptively raising the interest rate would be a check against that."

Sharon tried to reply, but Arthur cut her off. "I don't see why you're so worked up though. I'm talking purely hypothetically. My company has no knowledge of any such gambling problem. I don't see why they should. Do you?" He paused, then continued. "I mean, it's not like there is one for them to know about anyways."

"I...I don't really understand..." Sharon said.

"What game are you playing." Eric said. Like his wife, he wasn't sure what was happening, but unlike his wife, he was sure he was on the losing end of it.

"Look," Arthur's face drew up into a sympathetic smile, "I've seen people struggle with money, and I've definitely seen people struggle with gambling. You two have your lives in order, I see no reason to turn them upside down."

"Thank you," Sharon whispered, her nerves relenting slightly.

Eric remained unconvinced. "The goodness of your heart? That's what brought you here tonight? I'd love to believe you, but I don't."

"Eric." Sharon hissed. "A man tries to help and you shoot him down for it?"

"No, its alright Sharon. People in my business don't have the best reputation for compassion."

"It still doesn't add up." Eric said.

"With all due respect, Eric, maybe you don't understand the gravity of the situation then. Going to my company with this would be huge. First, your interest rates would skyrocket. Frankly, they'd go high enough that you'd be backwards in months. It wouldn't be long before your house would be seized. The thing is though, that would only make things worse. Your house won't cover the added debt from the interest payments. They'll start going after other assets. Then there's the matter of fraud."

Sharon was beginning to look horrified. Eric was drawing himself to composure. Arthur continued, "You see, it could be argued that hiding that gambling problem defrauded the lenders. Would that hold up? I don't think so. The court costs to prove that though would be substantial. If somehow it does though, then there would be prison time. But worst of all, you'd no longer be eligible to cosign on your daughter's student loans. Without a cosigner, the quotes she'll get will be so high that she herself would be forced into debt. Do you see now Eric? I couldn't do all that to your family when there's no reason to."

"And is there?" Eric asked, through grated teeth.

"If there was, wouldn't I have done it?"

The three sat in silence as Eric stared Arthur down. Rising from his chair, Arthur said "Well, I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome. Why don't we call it night."

"I'll walk you out." Eric said, quick to grasp onto a way to get Arthur out of his house.

Arthur said his goodbyes to Sharon, but when he stepped outside the door he turned to Eric and said, "A moment outside, if you will."

Eric followed Arthur, shutting the door behind them. "What the fuck was that," he hissed. "You show up at my house? You threaten my family? I don't know who you think you are, but there are lines. This...this is insane. You're insane. You come back to my house and I swear, I'll kill you."

Arthur put on a solemn look. "Eric, I know that I'm pushing you pretty far here. I promise you though, nothing I said in there was a threat. I meant what I said. I have the power to destroy your and your family's lives, yes, but I see absolutely no reason to."

"You don't see any because you want me under your thumb. So as long as I play ball there isn't a reason to. I get that, don't treat me like an idiot. I also get that what you said in there was definitely a threat. Don't patronize me Arthur."

"What is it exactly you imagine I want you 'under my thumb' for Eric?"

"Hell if I know. Why don't you just come out and say it instead of pretending like you're some mild-mannered securities trader instead of the manipulative, lying bastard that you are."

"I find it funny that you think that me being a securities trader means I'm not a manipulative, lying bastard. But ok. You want to know what I want? I'll tell you." Arthur took a pause before continuing. "I want to have dinner with you and your wife next Friday."

Eric took a moment. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but whatever it was he was sure it would have been more...diabolical. Which worried him. "Why."

"Frankly? I'm bored Eric."

"You want to have dinner with me and my wife because you're bored? Bullshit."

Arthur laughed at that. "Honestly. I think that, when I take you out Friday, you'll get that I'm telling the truth."

"That's not happening. I don't know what makes you think that you can stand in my living room, blackmail me, without telling me why, by the way, and then that we would all just go have a nice dinner. Do you even hear yourself?"

Arthur's face suddenly became serious. "Blackmail? Yes. You realize I could destroy everything you have, right? I could raze your life to ground around you. I could bury you, your wife, your daughter, and anyone else you have any connection to on a whim. I can take your house, your job, your relationship, and when I have all that I can send you to prison just for fun. In short, Eric, I own you. I could ask you to kill a man and you know as well as I do that you'd do it. But I'm not. I'm inviting you to dinner. And you, being the stupid little shit that you are, don't realize the mercy I'm showing you. So I'll tell you what Eric, I'm no longer asking because I do not need to. We are having dinner Friday. When you get there, you'll be dressed in slacks and a button down. Your wife will be wearing a dress; specifically, the one I'll be sending over. Finally, every night until then you'll be thanking your God that this is all I'm telling you to do. Goodnight, Eric." Finished, Arthur turned and walked away. Eric was fuming, but underneath the rage he had gone cold. When Arthur got into his car, Eric finally shook himself loose enough to go back inside.

"Hm? Oh, uh, I wanted to ask about some of the specifics on our mortgage. He said that he had to go though so we'll talk about it later. He invited us to dinner on Friday, actually."

"Oh."

"It was his suggestion. Seemed like a good idea."

"Yeah...I guess. Eric...I don't like him. Something's off about him. This whole thing was bizarre. Are we going to be ok?"

"We're going to be fine. Like he said, if he meant us harm he would have done something already, wouldn't he have? I think he's trying to help." Eric could feel the bile in his throat as he said this, but comforting Sharon was more important than his pride.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense if what he wanted was to hurt us. Why even bother telling us? He was probably just nervous that he's lying to his company. He's putting his job on the line."

"I guess when you put it like that..."

Eric walked over and hugged his wife. She sat there in his arms for a while, before turning away and going over to the kitchen. "We should eat before it gets cold."

* * * *

Eric and Sharon walked over to the booth where the maitre d' had told them they would find Arthur. The restaurant was five stars, nicer than anywhere the couple had eaten in a long time. Since before Carolyn was born, probably.

Dressed in just some nice khaki pants and a button-down shirt, Eric found himself severely under dressed. Sharon, on the other hand, looked fantastic. The dress that Arthur had sent over to their house was white, with shoulder straps that crossed over her chest. It hugged itself tight around her hips and ass, then fell loose to the top of her knees. The back was left open until beneath the shoulder blades.

When the dress had arrived, there had been some discussion between the couple over whether or not she should wear it. Both agreed it was very weird for Arthur to have sent it over, but then again Sharon actually wouldn't have had something to wear that was up to the restaurant's standards without it, so maybe it was justified. Besides, she had said, it was rude to turn down a gift. Eric had hated giving in to anything that Arthur asked for, but he could tell that despite his wife's honest attempt at objectivity she really just wanted to wear the dress. So, reluctantly, Eric had ceded the issue.

"Eric, nice to see you. And Sharon, you look magnificent. Please, have a seat." Arthur motioned to the booth across from him. The table sat next to a window. Panels of oak wood separated the booths that lined this wall from one another, giving them some privacy. The seats were upholstered with leather, the table made from some kind of hardwood, and the floor carpeted.

"Thank you," Sharon said back. "For the compliment and the dress." Eric had simply nodded in response.

"Oh, its no matter," Arthur replied. "I'm a man of extravagant taste, but also of modesty. For instance, I love this restaurant, but feel embarrassed asking people to eat here, since between the costs of the dress code, the parking, and the menu itself it can be something of an ordeal. So I like to help if I can."

"How thoughtful." Eric said, his face expressionless. Now it was Arthur's turn to simply nod in response.

The three continued with their small talk until the waiter arrived and their orders were placed. When the waiter had left, Arthur turned to the couple and said, "Now the reason I asked for us to have dinner is two fold. First, I felt like you needed a little more reassurance that I have no ill will here. Because I don't. Second though is that I myself need some assurances."

"Is this where you ask us for something?" Eric asked.

"Only the truth," Arthur said, his expression disarming. "By not going to my company with what I know I'm taking on some exposure. I just need to know that the gambling really is behind you. When is the last time you gambled Eric?"

Anger flashed over Eric's face, but before he could say anything back Sharon spoke up. "It's been years. He cleaned up since then. He doesn't even make friendly wagers anymore. You have nothing to worry about, I promise you."

"Well that's reassuring to hear. I suppose a man's wife is the best source on him you can get." That last comment from Arthur was paired with a sideways glance towards Eric.

Sharon had a few more questions, but by the time the table's food arrived the business had mostly been concluded. Eric ate quickly, hoping to leave as soon as possible. He would only respond when asked a question, otherwise he sat silently.

To his displeasure, this might have backfired some. Sharon thought his silence rude, and so specifically made an effort to engage Arthur in conversation, which he, of course, accepted. Sharon would tell Arthur stories of Eric and her, or of Carolyn (which Eric especially disliked), and he in turn would talk about his ex-wife (who Eric was fairly certain was as real as Arthur's position at the 'investment firm').

Finally Eric got his wish and the dinner came to end. Arthur walked them out then turned to shake Eric's hand. He pretended that he didn't see the offer.

"You know, for what I thought would be a business meeting, I had a pretty good time." Arthur said. "Why don't we do this again next Friday?"

"That's not really-" Eric began.

"Don't worry, I know, this place is too expensive for two weeks in a row. How about we just have dinner at your place? Not to impose of course, but Sharon, I'd be honored to be able to try your cooking. I have a feeling it will be better food than they have here anyways."

"I'm glad to hear that it works for you guys Sharon. And Eric, we'll keep the dinner real relaxed then. I'll bring over some wine, that'll help you unwind. Anyways, I don't want to hold you two up so I'll get going." Arthur tried once more to shake Eric's hand, but Eric avoided it entirely. Sharon, however, obliged Arthur in a hug before saying her own goodbyes.

On the way back to their own car, Sharon turned to Eric and said "You know, he's not as bad as I thought he might be. He scared the hell out of me the first time, but he's actually pretty nice."

"I don't think we should have him over. I don't trust him. He's trying something, I just don't know what."

"What happened to what you said before, that he's probably just scared about his own job? About how he's trying to help us? You spent the entire dinner refusing to talk to him. What do you have against the guy?"

"I just don't trust him. First chance he gets he's going to fuck us over, you watch. We need to keep as far away as we can."

"You're wrong. Like you told me, if he wanted to hurt us he'd have done it already. If you're that irrationally terrified of him though, then after this Friday, which we already agreed to and we are not canceling, we won't see him again. Fair?"

Eric, despite his trepidation, accepted.

* * * *

The dinner was coming to a close and Eric was finally allowing himself some room to breathe. All things considered, it had been a pretty good time. In fact, if it weren't for the axe hanging somewhere over his head, if it hadn't been Arthur there, perhaps Eric might have even enjoyed it. Him and his wife didn't entertain very often and he had to admit he missed it. And that concerned Eric.
The three had talked about their jobs, television, sports, and other completely normal topics for close to an hour now. Eric wasn't naïve. He knew that Arthur had some kind of a goal, but he had absolutely no idea what it was. Why was he here? The fact that Arthur had acted completely reasonable only served to heighten Eric's fears. It left him feeling lost, at a disadvantage, like he was playing a game no one had bothered telling him the rules to.

Sharon did not share his state of turmoil. Arthur was, to her mind, a nice guy. He had brought over two bottles of wine, good wine at that, which as she had told him was a surefire way to ingratiate yourself with her. Sharon was thinking back to the promise she had made to her husband the week before, about not seeing Arthur again, and found herself regretting it. They didn't have very many friends after all. Having their daughter so young had alienated them from most of the people they had known. Their friends would want to go to bars, or concerts, or had been in college, but her and Eric had had Carolyn to look after. Arthur was the first person she could see being their friend that they had met in a long time. When Arthur checked the time and decided that he had better get going, Sharon was a little sorry that he couldn't stay longer.

"We have another bottle of wine in the kitchen, why don't you stay around a little longer?" she asked.

"Oh, no," he jokingly replied. "I'd better leave while you still want me to stay. It's a miracle that you haven't asked me to leave already, I wouldn't want to risk you changing your mind."

Sharon laughed, and Eric continued, "Besides I can see that Eric is eager to have the house alone with you again. I'd better get going."

Eric bristled at that, and he could tell his wife was upset at him for pushing Arthur out the door, but he didn't argue.

"Well it was nice having you over Arthur." she said.

Standing up and walking over to the door, he said "I had a great time. I'd love if we could do it again next Friday."

"Well..." Eric began to say, but he was cut off by his wife.

"I think that would be great." Arthur's face lit up at that. Sharon realized that the same way her and Eric didn't have many friends, Arthur probably didn't either. For them it had been their kid, for him it had been his career. Arthur was lonely.

"I look forward to next Friday then," he said. "I'll see you then."

Arthur made to shake Eric's hand, who after a moment of hesitation accepted. "I'll see you then I guess."

When Arthur turned to Sharon, he moved in for a hug, which Sharon appreciated. As the two began to pull away however, Arthur leaned in and lightly kissed her. Before Sharon had even registered it, it was over, and Arthur was opening the door to leave. "Until next week," he said, and then shut the door behind him.

Eric was completely shocked. In his head, he heard himself think that he ought to be angry, but all that he felt was cold surprise. When he turned to look at Sharon though, and saw her blushing, the anger roared into control. "What in the hell just happened."

Sharon chose the worst possible response, as far as Eric was concerned. She laughed.

"You think that was funny?" he replied, his eyes widening.

"Oh calm down honey. It wasn't a big deal."

"He just kissed you!"

"Well only barely. It was probably just a mistake or something."

"That wasn't a mistake. We need to cancel the dinner on Friday."

Sharon's expression became a little more serious then, seeing how upset he was. "Really, its fine. You can't actually be jealous can you? That man? A threat? I mean sure he's attractive..." When she saw Eric's face darken she laughed again. "I'm joking, god. I mean it, that was nothing. You're over thinking it."

Still, Sharon thought to herself...was he? That wasn't normal. No, he had just had too much wine and made stupid mistake, like when you're a kid and you call a teacher 'mom'. Just a neuron misfiring. He had pulled away as soon as he had realized what he had done. That's why he left so quickly, he was mortified. Besides, the last thing she could do was show doubt to Eric. God knew he was already worked up enough.

"I'm not over thinking it. That was unacceptable and we NEED to cancel the dinner. He can't come back here."

"Eric, you don't get it. It was a mistake. Really. He pulled away almost instantly, as soon as he realized what he'd done. Don't you see? That man probably has no one. No friends, no family. He's just lonely. We're probably the first people he's had a dinner with, that wasn't about business, in ages. The worst thing we could do to that man is tell him we don't want to see him again. If it's weird in a week, we can bring it up at dinner, but we're not canceling."

Eric felt defeated. How could he explain to her how wrong she had it? Words sprung to mind, but his tongue was dead in his mouth. Anything he could say that might actually change her mind would only make her question where the information came from. So instead of speaking up, Eric just nodded his head.

"Now," Sharon said, "I've been drinking wine all night. How about we go do something more fun than a peck on the lips." She took Eric's hand and began to lead him to the bedroom. Eric wasn't thinking about her though; all he could think of was how much he felt like a frog in boiling water.

* * * *

Arthur sat looking at his phone. This was going to be the first real stress test. Everything else had just been toying. This, however, was going to be the first time he really pushed the two of them. It would be safe to say that he had experience with blackmail. He knew that the first big request was the most important. If you could get that critical first concession, then they were much more likely to give in to the following demands. You had to be careful though; request something too large and they'd balk, request something too small and it wouldn't do the trick. It had to be something they really didn't want to do, but that they'd ultimately be willing to give in to with enough pressure.

Sighing, Arthur picked up his phone. It rang longer than he would have like, but just as he was about to get angry, Eric answered.

"What do you want?" he asked Arthur, with an edge of steel.

"You took your time picking up. Were you perhaps thinking of ignoring the call? I hope I didn't call too late."

"I don't care. I'm not going to banter with you. If you're talking to me you have something to say so just say it before I hang up."

"You're not in any position to make declarations like that, but I'll let it slide. I'm calling about next Friday actually."

"You can't make it? We're devastated. Oh well, things come up right?"

Arthur laughed at that. "No, there's no need to worry, we're still on for Friday. There's something I need to tell you though, about our upcoming dinner, and...well you're not going to like it."

Eric felt chilled. What was about to happen? "I've never liked anything you've told me. I don't see how this will be any different."

"I'm hurt. Your insults aside though, I'm going to treat you like I'd want to be treated and just come out with it. Try not to be too shocked."

"Except you're not coming out with it, you're stalling."

"I don't stall, Eric. If you want me to say it though here it is: on Friday, I'm going to ask your wife to blow me. And she's going to do it."

Arthur heard nothing from the other end of the line. "You there Eric? I did warn you that it would be..."

"You piece of shit. You know what? I don't care what you have on me. You want to send me to jail? Do it. But you're never going to lay a hand on my wife. You come near us ever again, I'll be going to jail for murder, not whatever trumped up charge you think you have on me. You think you have people all figured out, but you don't, because being the monster you are you don't understand that some people care about others more than themselves. You overplayed your hand. I'm never going to see you again. Go fuck yourself."

The tirade was punctuated by the call's abrupt end. "Unfortunately, Eric, I do understand people," Arthur muttered to himself. He took a deep breath, then dialed a different number.

"Hello, it's Arthur again. Yes, I'm just calling to let you know that it's all set up. Your dinner with the dean is scheduled for this coming Saturday. Mhmm, his secretary will send you the details. One more thing, rest assured, I'm a man of my word. I've built my life on keeping promises. That video will never see the light of day. More importantly though, I far prefer the carrot to the stick. You'll have no troubles whatsoever getting in. I assure you. I'm horribly sorry for all of this, but it's all behind you now. You too, goodnight."

All things considered, he thought, that could have gone much worse.

* * * *

Eric hated this part. The steps up to his classroom always made him feel out of shape. It was one of the worst parts of his day. Well, it was most days. He had bigger things on his mind this morning. The call from the night before was still echoing around inside his head. Every line of that short conversation was repeated over and over until he wasn't really sure who had used what tones. There was one sentence though that he always came back to: 'And she's going to do it'. The confidence he had had...it made him uncomfortable.

Still, Eric had finally cut ties with Arthur. It was a relief that he could hardly even comprehend. A huge weight had been lifted off his chest. Then again, Eric wasn't so sure that in lifting it off he hadn't hung it up over his head. It could come crashing down at any time. God, angering Arthur was just as likely to ruin his life as it was to fix it.

No, Eric assured himself, people like Arthur are looking for easy marks. That's what criminals do. They're opportunists. By making himself a threat, or at least someone who wouldn't give in, he had made himself a more difficult target. Arthur was going to move on. Sure he might take a parting shot for his pride, but Eric was pretty sure the worst was behind him.

Besides, he hadn't been bluffing. If Arthur came anywhere near his wife, Eric was going to kill him.

His inner monologue was cut short when he saw the sign on his door. Looking around, he realized that the same sign was on all the doors. "Emergency Faculty Meeting. All Teachers Must Attend." Eric's pulse quickened. Was this a coincidence? Maybe. Probably not though. Shit.

He made his way to the faculty room. It was packed. Everyone was there, and they were all talking about what the meeting could possibly be about. Most people were worried; the prevailing theory was emergency budget cuts.

After a few more minutes, and few more late-comers, the superintendent took his place at the front of the room and quieted everyone down. The superintendent? Shit, this had to be serious. Eric's fears were suddenly validated when a pair of police officers entered into the back of the room. His head was ringing now. He didn't know if he could handle this.

"I'm sorry to disturb your mornings," the superintendent said, "but there is a very important matter that we need to discuss. Last night, our offices received an email from someone alleging to be a student here at this school. They claimed that, recently, they and a teacher had had...er, sexual relations." The room was deathly silent. You could hear a pin drop. "The letter was somewhat unclear on whether the relations were unwanted or not. Now, there is no way to verify that the email did come from a student, but we take this extremely seriously. The police have been called and we'd like to ask that you cooperate in their investigation wholeheartedly. Any information you may have should be brought to them as soon as possible. They have also requested that they be allowed to interview some of you. Should you be asked to do so, I strongly encourage you to agree. If there's any truth to this, we are going to find out who did it and they are going to face the consequences."

Oddly enough Eric felt relieved. Sure, he was in deep shit, but they didn't know who did it. Of course they hadn't though, they wouldn't have called the meeting if they did, they would have just arrested him. Now, the question was, had Arthur set this up or had Sarah come forward on her own? Actually, never mind, that was a stupid question. If Sarah had come forward on her own she wouldn't have made it ambiguous. No, there was no way the timing could have been coincidental. This was Arthur.

He barely remembered the classes he taught that day. When it came time to teach the one Sarah was in, he couldn't even look at her. She wouldn't look at him either. What was worse was, for some reason, he couldn't get the picture of her lips wrapped around his shaft out of his head. Why was he thinking about that now of all times? He hated himself for it.

During his lunch break, the police had come into his room. His heart had nearly stopped. They were doing interviews alphabetically, they explained, and Collins was near the top of the list. He of course agreed to sit down with them, although whether he managed to keep his cool was something he couldn't remember. The whole thing was a blur. Had he ever had sexual relations with a student? No. Not even a moment of inappropriate contact? No. Had he ever been propositioned? No. Did he know of any other teachers who had? No. Had he heard anything about other teachers engaging in sexual or otherwise inappropriate activity with students? No. Did he have anything that could potentially aid the investigation? No.

Any relief he had had at the start of the day had been obliterated. It was all he could do to stop himself from trembling. Had the cops noticed how nervous he was? Of course they did. How couldn't they have. Hell, even the students probably noticed. It was only a matter of time before they learned what was going on and one of them put two and two together and reported him themselves. God, he was so fucked.

When the day finally ended, what seemed like an absolute eternity later, Eric didn't bother staying an hour or two late like he usually did. He was out of the classroom almost faster than the students.

"Hello Eric." Eric jumped. He turned around to see Arthur, who had been waiting around a corner for him.

"Don't say a word, Eric. You want to play this way? We can. Or I can make sure that the whole thing is seen as a cruel practical joke. Your choice. And about Friday. We're still on for it, and its going to go exactly how I said it was going to go. And you're responsible for making sure it does. I don't care how you make it happen, but you will. I'll see you then."

With that, Arthur walked away. Eric's stress had condensed down to despair, and he was drowning in it.

* * * *

"Honey...there's something I need to talk to you about." Eric could barely get the words out. Was he going to do this? There wasn't a choice was there. Not really. He had put it off as long as he possibly could. It was Friday night. Arthur was going to be here any minute. His chest was tight, he couldn't breathe, but he had to do it.

"What's up?" Sharon asked, briefly looking up from the dinner she was making.

"It's about what happened last Friday."

"Are you still worrying about that? I told you, if we're still uncomfortable tonight we can bring it up, but I don't think it'll be an issue."

"Actually, that's kind of what I wanted to talk about. Arthur has our mortgage. He has a lot of power over us with that. So I was thinking the last thing we would want to do is make him angry."

Sharon turned towards him, and when she saw the look on his face she put down what she was doing and came over. "Whats gotten into you? There's nothing to worry about, we're just having dinner. If he invites me over to a hotel room then obviously I'm going to tell him to fuck off but that's never going to happen."

"That's...that's the opposite of what I just said..."

"I don't know what you're scared of. But I'll do whatever you want me to do ok? Let's just enjoy this dinner and afterward, when none of these bizarre fears have come up, we can talk again." She leaned in and kissed him quickly, before turning back into the kitchen. Eric thought he was going to be sick.

* * * *

The dinner had gone much the same as the last one. Plenty of small talk and stories. The whole thing had just been a drone to Eric though, drowned out, in the background. He was barely even there.

If there was a difference from last dinner, it was this: then, Eric couldn't wait until the dinner was over. Now he dreaded it. And it was here.

The three had finished eating not very long ago, and the night was winding down. Sharon grabbed the dirty dishes, then stood to bring them back to the kitchen. When she turned, Arthur placed his napkin on the table, got out of his seat, and turned to follow her. As Sharon came back into the room, he grabbed her and kissed her.

This wasn't like the last time. This wasn't a peck on the lips. It was deep. When Arthur broke the kiss, Sharon turned to look at Eric. She was stunned, completely unsure of what was going on. Eric's eyes were downcast, but he raised them to meet his wife's. What she saw on his face broke her heart. Eric made the faintest of nods, then looked away again. When Sharon turned to look back at Arthur, he leaned in and kissed her again.

And Sharon let it happen. Her reception was cold, but she didn't fight it. Arthur's tongue pushed against her lips, and she opened them, just enough to let it in. She felt it dancing against her own, but didn't reply in kind.

Arthur broke off the kiss and, taking her hand, led her back to his seat at the dinner table. He sat down, and in doing so, used his grip on Sharon's hand to pull her onto her knees in front of him. She was completely in shock, completely unsure of what was going on here. She hadn't offered much resistance.

Suddenly, the conversation she had had with Eric before the dinner came back to mind. She was furious. He had known? He had expected this to happen? And he just...let it? No, worse than that, he had told her to go along with it. Like he was pimping her out.

Her rage dissipated though, and was replaced with cold fear, when she remembered what else he had said; that Arthur had their mortgage, that he had a lot of power over them. The threats, and she realized now that they were just that, threats, that Arthur had brought up the first time they met took on a sudden sharpness in her memory. Debt, fraud, jail...even Carolyn, her own daughter, would be impacted by it.

Sharon had cheated on Eric once, and it had nearly destroyed him. She knew that for him to sit there while this was happening was probably the hardest thing he had ever done. He wouldn't be doing it unless their backs were really against the wall. He would have tried everything to stop this, but what was he supposed to do? Sharon knew, Eric would never have taken this lying down. She trusted Eric absolutely, and so she trusted that what he had told her to do was necessary. She heard his words once more, 'just...let him'.

She snapped out of it, suddenly realizing where she was. On her knees, crouched in front of Arthur. She realized what he wanted her to do.

She balked. No, what was she, a whore? To just be loaned out?

But she knew, there was no choice here. On the verge of tears, she reached her hands out. Fumbling, her palms damp with cold sweat, she undid the button on Arthur's pants. He raised himself slightly in the chair to let her pull his pants down, taking his underwear with them, and letting his cock out.
Sharon stared at it. It was bigger than Eric's. Not by a lot, half an inch maybe, and just a little thicker, but definitely bigger. She resigned herself to what was going to happen then. She felt the tears in her eyes stop welling as she came to a certain cold acceptance.

She leaned forward once more, and slipped the head of his dick into her mouth.

Arthur leaned his head back, letting out a sigh as her wet mouth enclosed him. She moved her lips back and forth over it, gently bobbing up and down the tip. Arthur took his hand and stroked her hair, before placing it more firmly on the back of her head. Little by little, he applied pressure on her down strokes, causing her to take more and more of him into her mouth each time until she was slipping her lips over half his length.

Eric rested his head in his hands. The slurping noises his wife made as she sucked another man off rang in his skull. He hadn't thought he could hate himself any more, making his wife whore herself out, but he now realized he could. He was getting hard, and as much as he didn't want to, he picked his head up and looked over.

He saw the back of Sharon's head, moving up and down on Arthur's dick, his hands resting on the back of her head. He couldn't look away again. The sight of his wife blowing someone else transfixed him, a cross between arousal, morbid curiosity, horror, and self-loathing.

A small moan left Arthur's lips. Sharon had started using her tongue. It gently flicked over the underside of his head, before she started swirling it around his tip. He tightened his grip on her hair slightly, and began thrusting up to meet her face. Not forcefully, but enough. Sharon made a sound of alarm, and the vibrations brought him to the edge of climax, but he managed to hold off.

Sharon quickly adjusted to the new rate, and was bobbing her head up and down his dick in time with his thrusts. Her lips were wrapped around his shaft, her tongue working his length. Arthur looked up at Eric, wanting to know how he felt watching his wife suck him off. The look of defeat he saw on Eric's face didn't disappoint.

Arthur couldn't hold back any longer. When Sharon's mouth descended on him, he held it there, shooting his cum into the back of her throat. Not expecting this, her attempts to quickly swallow it down didn't work, and some of it leaked out the corner of her mouth. When he was done, Arthur pulled himself out, then gave Sharon a look, admiring his work.

Eric's wife was on her knees, a blob of cum slowly working down her chin. Absent mindedly, her tongue scooped it up to be swallowed. Sharon's face was numb, but if anything could be seen on it, it would be shame.

Arthur stood up and put his pants back on. "Thanks for the wonderful dinner." he said, closing the door behind him as he left, leaving the couple behind.